Full laminated relay



March 5, 1957 B. s. BENGTSSON FULL LAMINATED RELAY Filed June 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l 20 2 60 SI12 6 M Znhfl b@- al n l i 23 l u z5 62 -26- Ag5- J. 1 52 l I i3 59 5|?. 60 6l l 4 LE- E 1N VEN TOR.

BER T/L 5. .15E/va Tsso/v HTTORNEY March 5, 1957 B. s. BENGTssoN 2,784,277

FULL LAMINATED RELAY Filed June 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6\ GLS fw. W

l n/ la as \30 HTTORNEY United States 3 I"ateilt FULL LAMINATED RELAY Bertil S. Bengtsson, Plantsville, Conn., assigner to The Five Star Company, Inc., Plantsville, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application June 2, 1954, Serial No. 434,012

12 Claims. (Cl. 200-111) This invention relates to relays and is directed particularly to an improved relay construction providing greater eiciency and reliability, especially in A. C. relays.

The eiciency of an A. C. relay depends to a great extent upon how completely the magnetic circuit is laminated. A. C. relays are ordinarily so constructed that they have only a partially laminated magnetic circuitsolid magnetic armatures usually being provided as the actuating mechanism for the moving contacts. Not only are such relays ineflicient, but they .are also faulty in operation when subjected to shock and vibration due to the great weight and consequent inertia of such movable magnetic armatures.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an improved relay having a complete laminated magnetic structure including a light weight moving plunger.

It is another object of the invention to provide a relay of the above nature having parallel side extensions in the central leg portion of the laminated magnetic circuit, which extensions serve to reduce the required size and weight of the plunger, to reduce the'reluctance of the magnetic circuit, and also serve as a guidemeans for the plunger.

A further object of the invention is to provide an A. C. relay of the above nature having a construction incorporating a shading coil of large cross section without loss of pole face area.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a relay of the character described in which the usual current-carrying springs connected to moving contacts are eliminated, and wherein leaf springs of thin at stock having a flat characteristic are utilized, thereby reducing the magnetic force necessary to overcome plunger chatter in A. C. relays when the plunger Vis inactuated or closed position. K

Still further objects and advantages of the' present invention will appear from the more detailed description set forth below, it being understoodthat .this vdescription is given by way of illustration only, and that various changes therein may be made by those, skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.-

In the drawings, wherein like reference 'numerals' denote corresponding parts throughout the several viewsz'` IFig. l is a side elevational view of a lfour pole double throw A. C. relay embodying the invention, l Q

lFig. 2 is a top view of the relay shown in Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is an end view of the same,

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical vcross sectionV ofthe same, taken on the line 4-4of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical cross :sectionofY the same, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and 1 Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical ycross section, ntaken',4 along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.. ,Y i

Vln the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates 'generallyia tour pole double throw A. vention. In brief, the relay comprises a pair of spaced mounting brackets 11, 12 betweeniwliieh"isrsecred-'af secured together by 3 headed pins 39. 14 is provided with an elongated rectangular slot 40 near the upper end thereof, said slot being funnishedr to support lthe Contact links 16 resiliently, in a manner .C- relaycmb'ody'ingihe imi-70 2,784,277l Patented Mar. 5,- 19,57

c ICC laminated magnetic core 13 having a central leg portion within which is disposed for vertical movement a laminated plunger 14 of magnetic material.

Surrounding the central leg portion of the core 13 is an insulated electric winding 15 for energizing the relay. The plunger 14 carires in its slotted upper end a pair of lace-to-face contact links 16, 17 of light insulation material, and said links extend outwardly of the core 13 equidistantly in each direction (see Fig. 4).

The contact links 16, 17 have resiliently supported therein transversely disposed contact members 18, 19, 20 and 21, said contact members being adapted to shunt, selectively, horizontally laligned upper or lower contacts of the contact pair 22, 23 fixed in position between part'itions of electrical insulating material secured against either side of the laminated core 13 by means of leftand right-hand end support plates 24, 25. Contact return leaf springs 26 secured between the partitions serve to urge the contact links 16, 17 upwardly so that' the plunger 14 is in withdrawn position in the magnetic circuit, and so that the transversely aligned contacts 22 are normally electrically interconnected. Upon energization of the electric winding 15, the plunger 14 will be pulled downwardly, carrying with it the four Contact members 18, 19, 2G and 21 so that `cross cont-act is then made between the transversely aligned lower contacts 23.

Considering now the detailed construction of the relay 10, it will he evident that, as best illustrated in Fig. 6, the laminated core 13 comprises a pair of opposed downwardly-extending portions 27, 28 defining a vertical slot 29 within which the laminated plunger 14 is guided.

The core 13 has a V-shaped recess 30 below the downwardly-extending portions 27, 28, said recess being adapted to receive the correspondingly-shaped integral enlarged head 31 at the lower end of the plunger 14. The core 13 is provided with a pair of parallel vertical slots 32 within the V-shaped recess 30, said slots extending cross-wise through the core laminations and being adapted to receive and support a centrally-apertured saddle-shaped shading coil 33. Such a shading coil is not necessary, of course, if the relay is to be energized for actuation only by direct current.

The energizing magnet winding 15 is wound on a substantially square paper insulation tube 34 and then hermetically sealed by molding it in a suitable plastic insulating covering 35.

vIn assembling the laminated core 13, the laminations thereof are inserted individually within the winding 15, the plunger 14 will have been rst inserted, and therelafter riveted together between the centrally-apertured as brass, are fitted at each side within the square central.-

opening in the winding 15, serving to guide the enlarged plunger head 31 in its vertical path of travel.

The plunger 14 is prefabricated with its laminations The plunger hereinbelow more; fully described (see Figs. 4 and 6). The contact links 15 and 17 are identical, each having va generally rectangular recess 41 within which the upper endof the plunger seats when said links are assembled inthe rectangular opening 40 thereof. The bottoms of the recesses 41 of the links 16, 17 are shaped'to provide" a pair of oppositcly inclined surfaces, indicated bythel: .numerals 42.43, respectively (seeFig. 4), andsa'id links aesinet? 3 are assembled in reversed end-to-end position, whereby the inclinations extend in opposite directions. Arcuate recesses d4, centrally disposed along the lower edge of the conte t links 16, 17 are provided to receive the upper end of a horizontal Contact link index coil spring 45 when the contact links are in assembled position in the plunger 14. Thus, by virtue of the oppositely-extending inclined surfaces 42, d3 and the index spring 45, the contact links 16, i7 are rockably held with respect to the plunger i4.

The contact members l, i9, 2li and .il also are resiliently supported in generally rectangular o, ngs 46:1 in the contact links i6, il? and extend eqtudistantly from either side thereof (Fig. 4). The openings 46a are rade slightly deeper than the openings 46 to provide self-alignment of said contacts in unenergized position and to allow for wear of said contacts.

The openings 45 each have aligned opposed slots through which, during assembly, the Contact members i8, 19, 20, 2l. and the anged Contact spring seats 48 can be passed.v The frange portions of the contact spring seats 4S have diarnetricallv opposed cut-out portions enabling said seats to be secured against the upper edges of the openings r[he contact members i8, It?, 2li and 21 are similarly provided with opposed generally rectangular recesses 49, whereby they can be assembled through the slots 4'! and seated down against the lower edges of the openings 46. rihe contact members 1S through 2 have central upwardly-protruding portions Sti, provided for instance by the use of round studs secured in said contact members, for indexing contact springs 51 disposed within the openings i6 between the Contact spring seats 43 and said contact members.

it will thus be apparent that when the relay is energized, normal downward over-travel of the plunger 14, whereby the contact members i8, 19, 29, 21 will be moved dow ward into contact with their respective con tact pairs before said plunger is in fully retracted position, resuits in compression of the contact springs 51, thereby insuring uniform Contact pressure between the contacts.

'the contact pairs, hereinabove described, are secured between partitions ot' electrical insulating material. To support these partitions, the mounting brackets 11 and l2 each have'rixed thereto four outwardly-extending studs S2. Since the constrriion is the same at both sides of the relav vonly the right-hand side, as illustrated, will be de bed herein.

Mounted against the outside of the mounting bracket il and l2. are a pair of inverted L.shaped insulators 53, it beiA iderstood that said insulators, as well as all the otherinsulators hereinbelow described, are apertured to allow therethrough of the studs 52. A pair of slotted 'L -shaped spacer insulators S4 are mounted against the insulators Four cylindrical spacer horizontal insulators S5 are mounted on the four studs 52 against the spacer insulators followed by a second pair of slotted spacer insulators 56, a second pair of insulators S7, a

Vthird pair of slotted spacer insulators 58, a second set of cylindrical spacer insulators 59, a fourth pair of slotted spacer insulators 60, a third pair of insulators 6i and nally the left-end support plate 25. The assembly is securely held together by swedging over the outer ends of the studs 52.

Aligned elongated slots are provided in the slotted spacer insulator pairs for securing in position the contact pairs 22, 23 between the partitions, said contact pairs having corresponding side projections fitting into said slots. The L-shaped insulators are so disposed as to define aligned vertical central slots which together with a vertical slot 25a in the end support plate 25, allow unobstructed vertical motion of the Contact links 16, 17.

In order to resiliently hold the plunger 14 upwardly in normal (not energized) position, so that-the Contact members 18, 19, 20 and 2l make contact with their respective contactV pairs 22, 23, the at angularly bent contact return springs 26, preferably of beryllium-copper, are located, one within each of the partition spaces. The leaf springs 26 (see Fig. 5) each have a downwardlyextending portion o2 fitting over the outer surfaces of the respective vertically-aligned pairs of the cylindrical spacer insuators 5S and 59, and an inwardly-extending portion 63 the end of which bears upwardly against the contact links 16, i7 within shallow locating slots 64, 64a therein (see Fig. 5). The slots 64a are deeper than the slots 64 for permitting self-alignment oi the contacts and to allow wear. "rire return springs 26 are adjustably held in place by means of side screws 65 passing through a central aperture in the downwardly extending portion 62 thereof and into respective nuts 66 mounted between the slotted spacer elements in the same way as are the Contact pairs 22, 23 described above.

For convenience in making connection to the magnetic winding 15, the electrical leads 67 are connected to terminal connector members 68, one at each side of the relay in the rst partition space, opposite the contact return springs 26. Pl`he terminal connector members 68 are also secured in slots of the spacer insulators 54, 56 and have an outwardlyextending lug 69 for connection of the relay energization circuit.

One of the advantages of the novel relay herein disclosed is that contact is made without the use of currentcarrying springs, thereby increasing the current carrying capacity.

Another advantage resides in the novel contact return sp construction wherein adjustment can be made without bending of spring-tempered parts.

Another advantage resides in the flat characteristic of the return springs, which minimizes the magnetic pull required for maintaining the plunger in actuated position, thereby eliminating plunger chatter in A. C. relays.

Another advantage resides in the eliciency of the magnetic circuit, combined with great reduction in weight in the plunger' and the Contact carrving parts, whereby the resistance of the relay to shock and vibration is increased.

While there has been described and illustrated herein one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is presented as an example only and that various changes and modiic'ations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and lscope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

l. In an electromagnetic relay, the combination comprising, a substantially rectangular laminated magnetic core having a central opening, said magnetic core cornprising'space'd opposed magnetic core portions extending into said central opening and delining slot in said core, a laminated armature plunger member of magnetic material in said slot, said plunger comprising at one end an integral enlarged head located within said opening and below the ends of said opposed magnetic core portions, said plunger being movable longitudinally within said slot, an electric winding adapted to induce a magnetic flux in said core, an elongated contact carrying insulating structure, means rockably mounting said structure to the other end of said plunger member, and resilient means cooperative with said structure for holding said plunger member so that it is in withdrawn position relative said 4. The invention as dened in claim 3, wherein said spring is Vdisposed edgewise relative to said structure, and

wherein said structure is provided with an arcuate recess for receiving the edge of said spring.

5. The invention as defined in claim 3, wherein said structure comprises a pair of fiat face-to-face elements, each element having a cut-out portion defining an inclinded bottom surface, said elements being relatively so disposed that the inclined surfaces extend in different directions.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said enlarged head is of V-shaped formation, and wherein said core is provided with a corresponding V-shaped recess adapted to receive said V-shaped head therein.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6, wherein the V-shaped recess of said core is slotted in each side across the laminations, and including a saddle-shaped centrallyy apertured shading coil having downwardly-extending side portions seated in said slots.

8. The invention as deiined in claim 1, wherein said resilient plunger-holding means comprises a flat spring having one end adapted to engage with the underside of said structure.

9. The invention as defined in claim 8, including a pair of spaced spring support members, the other end of said spring being bent over said members, and adjustable pressure means for holding the central portion of" the other end of said spring so that said other end is in firm engagement with said spring support members, whereby the compressional force of the other end of said spring upon the underside of said structure can be varied.

10. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said 5 contact carrying structure extends substantially equidistantly from each side of said plunger member, a plurality of double contact shunt members crosswise and resiliently mounted in said structure, and pairs of spaced contacts cooperatively mounted with respect to each con- 'fact of each of said double-contact shunt members so that when said relay is energized, said shunt members each switch from one set to the other of individual contacts of said pairs of spaced contacts.

11. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said structure has two pairs of rectangular openings for loosely receiving said contacts, the openings of one pair being deeper than the opening of the other pair to provide selfalignment of said contacts in the unenergized position of said plunger and to allow for Wear.

l2. The invention as defined in claim 8, in which the underside of said structure has two pairs of spring-receiving notches, one pair of said notches being deeper than the other pair to provide self-alignment of said contacts in the unenergized position of said plunger and to allow for wear.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,676 Wilms et al Mar. 22, 1938 803,486 Hill Oct. 31, 1905 2,448,650 Aitken Sept. 7, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 216,799 Switzerland Dec. 16, 1941 

